Callidus Rising | Complete ✔️ | Book 1

20: The "Bash"

As the leader hunches down to spring onto Dark, the door that all of us had come out of opens, and something of nightmares crawls out: the bots.

They each have four mechanical legs with little hand-like claws on the bottoms. The legs connect to a domed shape with a camera on the top and two little tendrils coming off the sides like little arms.

As they all swarm out, it reminds me of a tsunami.

They crawl over each other and rapidly move to surround us protectively.

As they do so, the Victims are shoved backwards.

The leader screams out in anger and frustration as the bots begin to shove him back with their legs and tendril-like arms.

For a moment, it seems like our problems are solved... Until another Victim appears.

It lets out an inhuman hiss as it transitions to all fours and lunges straight at the closest bot.

It bashes its balled up fists into the camera on top of the bot's head and attempts to rip its legs off.

Behind the other two attackers, a large mass of Victims had begun to appear. My eyes grow wide as I see their sheer numbers. One by one, they begin to follow suit of their crazed Victim acquaintances and attack the bots.

Everything is a blur.

Disfigured skin and shining metallic scraps are flying everywhere.

There are even some victims taking bites out of the bots.

The air is filled with viscous war cries and the sounds of mechanical weapons blasting.

Lukas looks over at his shoulder at Dark who is now standing beside the boy that was directing these insane machines. Lukas and I are surrounded by a constantly shifting wall of robots that seemed to be protecting us.

The only downside is that we can't really move too far.

Lukas what do we do?

I think instead of speaking because at the moment, I can barely hear my own mind.

Static fills my right ear but it only sounds like a whisper.

"I'm not sure Alexi."

Lukas looks down at me as he responds, he is still holding me.

Wow, for the first time you don't know what to do!

"Don't sass me."

Lukas shoots me a warning look.

I raise my eyebrows at him rebelliously.

I'm soooo terrified. Ugh. Why do you have to hear all my thoughts? Don't you get super-

"Alexi, be quiet a moment."

What do you mean "be quiet" I am quie-

"Listen."

I narrow my eyes in confusion but listen.

The battle cries seem to have subsided mostly aside from the occasional one, but they are distanced.

Slowly, the bots come to a stand still, and they stop stepping on one another so that Lukas and I can see over them.

I peer past my friend's arm behind us to see Dark slide his blaster into the holster on his hip.

His black apparel makes him look like a lone shadow in the bright afternoon.

I move my eyes over to the boy who saved our lives to see him kneeling down and readjusting one of the bot's cameras.